"There's something in the bushes," Brock whispered to Misty.

Instead of waiting for Brock to give the order for Crobat to attack, Misty leapt forward and beat aside the foliage to reveal a purple mouse with large front teeth.

"Oh, it's another Rattata," Misty said dejectedly as the mouse Pokémon scampered into the woods. "I was so sure that it was a Parasect this time."

"I've got to hand it to you, Misty," said Brock. "Even though you hate bug Pokémon, you've been searching nonstop for a Paras or Parasect since we left camp."

"Even though I think bug Pokémon are horrid, Ash needs one to get well. And I'm not going to stop searching until we find one of those mushrooms."

"That's pretty brave of you, Misty - putting aside your own fears to help Ash. Ash is lucky to have you for a friend."

"Thanks, Brock. But I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean, Misty?"

"I mean that we've been searching for over an hour and still haven't found anything other than a bunch of Rattata, Caterpies –" Misty shuddered. "Pidgeys, and that one Ekans you nearly stepped on. What if we can't find a Paras or Parasect? What if there aren't any on this island? What will happen to Ash if we can't find one?" Misty's eyes filled with tears.

"Don't worry, Misty. We'll keep looking." Brock gave his friend a comforting hug.

"I…I can't even think about what would happen if…if Ash…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word "dies".

"We'll find a way to help him, Misty. We've pulled his butt out of so many tight spots before that why should this be any different?"

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Brock." Misty wiped her nose on her friend's shirt. "You're right. Come on…let's keep looking."

---

Professor Oak looked at his watch. Brock and Misty had been gone for over an hour, but it had seemed much longer than that.

An anxious Pikachu lay in the crook of Ash's arm. The Pokémon was distressed from not only its trainer being sick, but from being unable to do anything to help relieve Ash's pain.

"I know you're worried, Pikachu," Professor Oak said in a low voice as he reached over and stroked the Pokémon's yellow fur. "But as long as he's asleep, the pain won't be so bad. And even though it may not seem that way, I know that having you near is helping him."

"Pikachu," the Pokémon said sadly.

"I know, Pikachu. I'm worried about Ash, too." Professor Oak continued to stroke Pikachu's head soothingly until the Pokémon rested its head on Ash's arm and closed its eyes.

Professor Oak sat in silence for a moment, listening carefully to the boy's breathing. Fluid in the lungs was what usually killed Pokémon that had allergic reactions to Beedrill stings. So far, so good…the boy didn't seem to be in any respiratory distress.

But the "jumpy heart" that Ash had described earlier still bothered him. As Professor Oak reached for Ash's wrist, his fingers accidentally brushed against the Pokémon nestled in the crook of the boy's arm. Startled, Pikachu opened its eyes. "Pika?"

"It's all right, Pikachu," Professor Oak said reassuringly. "I'm just checking to see how Ash is doing."

The Pokemon watched curiously as Professor Oak pressed his fingertips against the artery in Ash's wrist and began counting.

One…two…three…four…still a bit fast…five…six…

"How am I doing, Professor?"

Startled, Professor Oak looked over and saw that Ash's eyes were open. Ash stared at Professor Oak's hand, which was still around his wrist.

"Guess I must not be doing too well if you're checking to see if I'm still alive," Ash murmured.

"Ash, I wasn't checking to see if you were still alive. I was just making sure that you were still doing all right."

"That's okay, Professor. You don't have to pretend. You can level with me, man-to-man."

"Level with you? I don't understand."

"It's okay, Professor. I know that I'm dying."

A cold chill crept up Professor Oak's spine. "Dying? Ash, what makes you think that you're dying?"

"Because I've never been this sick before in my whole life. Even when I got stung by the Beedrill at your place, I didn't get this sick."

"Ash, how's the pain in your leg? Is the ibuprofen helping?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "It's still throbbing, but it's not as bad as before. But I still feel shaky and sick to my stomach."

"Ash, Brock and Misty will be back here soon," Professor Oak tried to reassure him. "Right now, they're out searching for a Paras or Parasect mushroom that can help you."

"Professor, can you do something for me?"

"What, Ash?"

"If Brock and Misty don't make it back in time, could you take Pikachu back to my mom?" Ash's arm tightened around his faithful Pokémon companion. "Pikachu really likes her, and she's crazy about him. She'll take good care of him. And that way, maybe she won't miss me so much because Pikachu will remind her of me."

Professor Oak was ready to tell Ash that he shouldn't talk about dying, but held his tongue. He honestly couldn't give the boy a 100% guarantee of survival, either. "All right, Ash. I promise."

"And my other Pokémon…tell Brock and Misty to take good care of them. Misty gets Totodile since she's a water Pokémon trainer. And she really likes Cyndaquil, too. Bayleef only likes guys, so she'd better stay with Brock. And Noctowl and Crobat can spend their time flying around together. And Phanpy…I can't really decide who should have it. Maybe I'll leave the decision up to it."

"I think that's a wise thing to do, Ash."

"And if something ever happens to Brock or Misty, will you and Tracey take care of my Pokémon, Professor?"

"Yes, Ash. I promise that I'll look after them."

"Will you look out for my mom too, Professor Oak? She's gonna be really sad when I'm gone. And I know you and she are friends and all. She's really going to need a good friend to help her get through all this."

Unbeknownst to Ash, Professor Oak and his mother were more than just good friends. Professor Oak had loved Delia for years, and the idea of having to tell her that Ash was dead was almost too painful for him to think about. He didn't think she would be able to bear it if her son died. And Delia's pain was his pain, too.

"Professor?"

Professor Oak swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "Yes, Ash. I promise that I'll watch over your mother and take care of her."

"I know you will. You've always been looking out for me and my mom ever since my dad left. You know, in some ways I think of you as my dad."

The lump was back in Professor Oak's throat. "Thank you, Ash. I'm honored."

"Oh…one more thing. Reach inside my backpack and see if you can find an envelope."

Professor Oak rummaged through the contents of the boy's backpack and found a crumpled envelope lying at the bottom.

"There's twenty-three dollars inside," Ash explained. "It's for Misty. When we first met I kind of destroyed her bike. I promised her that one day I'd pay her back for it, so I've been saving money for it ever since. Will you give it to her and tell her that I'm sorry that I couldn't get her all the money?"

Professor Oak smiled. Bless your heart, Ash.

"I'll see to it that Misty gets the money." Professor Oak put the envelope in his pocket and felt Ash's forehead. "Now you need to get some rest."

Ash smiled weakly. "Thanks, Professor. I can relax now knowing that…you know, everything's okay now."

"Try to get some sleep, Ash." Professor Oak watched as the boy's eyes closed and the rapid breathing slowed once more.

Once he was certain that Ash was asleep, Professor Oak glanced into the rapidly darkening woods, searching for any sign of Brock and Misty. Even though he had been honored that Ash trusted him enough to convey his final wishes to, the last thing in the world he wanted to do was to have to carry them out.

To be continued…